


The Melting Pot

by SheisaCShelz



Category: Brave (2012), How to Train Your Dragon (2010), Rise of the Guardians (2012), Tangled (2010)
Genre: Disconnected Oneshots, F/M, Feasible Canons, Rise of the Brave Tangled Dragons, Various AUs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-10
Updated: 2016-07-04
Packaged: 2018-02-08 07:08:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1931400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SheisaCShelz/pseuds/SheisaCShelz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A melting pot of various ideas/situations/scenes/ferocious bunnies that inspire me to write big four stories that don't fit together.  This explores the plethora of possibilities on how our favorite four would (or wouldn't) get along, in life, in the afterlife, in canon, in various AUs, etc.</p>
<p>Basically, I'm going to have a lot of fun.  Requests are welcome!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Canon Characters, Hiccup!Centric

This…was Berk.

Hiccup gazed at the little snowglobe in his hands where snow fell on the seemingly quiet village.  If you looked closely, you could see the speedy blurs of dragons whipping through the houses with riders on their backs and Vikings cheering them on.  He could even see the sheep looking around in a panic for the next dragon that was going to pounce on them.

“Well?  Get on wi’ it, Hiccup!” Merida said impatiently.

“I’m thinking!  I’m thinking…”

She snorted.  “It’s your home!  What’s there to think about?  Just start describing.”

“Come on, Merida, give him a little time,” Rapunzel reasoned, face alight with curiosity as she stared at Hiccup’s miniature home.

It was Berk.  It was a cold, wet, inhospitable rock on the end of the Barbaric Archipelago.  Home of the toughest, most stubborn people on the planet.  The only Vikings to ride dragons.  Perhaps the only dragon riders in the world.

How did he explain how magnificent it was to the others?  Rapunzel’s world had been waiting for her, like a beautiful puzzle patiently awaiting the final, crowned piece.  Perhaps Merida could understand the magnitude of the struggle Berk went through to become what it was today.  Only Jack would have an inkling of how they had to keep struggling, to keep fighting for what they had.

They were fairytales.  The lost princess come home.  The childish princess grown up.  The unseen spirit now a Guardian.  They were in their happily ever afters.

Vikings did not have happily ever afters.  They didn’t have that promise that the works of yesterday would persist today.  Hiccup had seen Berk fluctuate like a drunken Terrible Terror.  It had flown to its golden moments in half a decade.  He knew it could fall even faster.

North gave him an understanding look.  Of course he knew about Berk’s change and its propensity for it.  It was his snowglobe.  He had seen it.

The others didn’t need to know, he decided.  They didn’t need this Fear that their worlds could come crumbling down around them.  He wouldn’t give it to them.

“This is Berk,” he began.  He sincerely hoped he hadn’t just witnessed the twins blow up the fence separating the yaks from the hill down to the village.   “We’re the best-kept secret in the North.  Because everyone knows that Berk is home to the Hairy Hooligans, a tribe of tough and tasteless Vikings with stubbornness issues.  We regularly get shivering visitors that want to enjoy our charming views of the sunsets, the peaceful fishing, or our pest free island.  But not a single one knows that Berk is the home of a tribe of dragon riders…and their dragons…"

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no clue...just no clue what really inspired this. I wrote it a bit before the 2nd movie came out, so that's my excuse for not getting Hiccup's introduction completely right.


	2. Rock Band/Modern AU

Whenever the quartet had a sleep-over, it always took place in Henry’s house.  Why?

A roar echoed around the neighborhood.

Well, close friends they may have been, but fire and gasoline tanks were great friends, too, and the explosions they set off looked like nothing next to the blow ups that happened when these four got together.

Henry’s house just happened to be best equipped for these sorts of things, given the lack of adults to bother and the wide berth passersby tended to give it.

**“JAAAAACK!”**

That’s what Astrid heard from the opposite side of the street on her morning jog.  She was just finishing up, passing by the Stoickson residence to her own house next door, when a few screams, the sound of banging, and incomprehensible shouts of rage made her stop.  She sent the house a raised eyebrow, wondering what could cause the two quiet residents to make such a ruckus.

The blonde blinked when the door opened and a boy who was _definitely_ not Henry streaked out, making sure to shut and barricade the door behind him with one of the giant flowerpots on the front porch that held a suffering hydrangea.

She blinked again when she took in his blindingly white hair.  Like, not even bleached.  Pure, white-as-snow, as light as a fresh sheet of computer paper hair.

And he was in his pajamas, from the looks of it.

What on Earth…?

She got an answer when the door practically exploded open.  The heavy flowerpot didn’t even stand a chance as it skidded a ways, tipped, and then fell over with a solid sound that told Astrid it now had a giant crack.  Dirt and the hydrangea spilled out of it, but Astrid was much more focused on the cause of the explosion.

She almost didn’t recognize the girl standing in the Stoicksons’ doorway at first.  She was wearing plaid flannel pajama bottoms, a light shirt despite the chilly autumn temperature, and an expression so furious Astrid wanted to take a few steps away despite the fact that she was on the opposite side of the street.

In short, this girl had gone from chemical to nuclear on the rage scale.

This was Merida Dunbroch, local wild card, strong-willed student, Astrid’s lacrosse teammate, and all-out person who had no business sleeping in Henry’s house as far as Astrid knew.

With pink hair.

Hot, eye-burning, pink, the girliest color around that no self-respecting guy would ever wear, nor Astrid, nor the Merida that Astrid thought she knew.

_“Which way did he go?”_

Astrid was so taken aback she couldn’t even think of answering Merida’s snarled question, but the way her head twisted to the left to see the boy making a break for it down the sidewalk was answer enough.

Merida was on him like a bear on a fish in five seconds flat.

“No!  Stop!  Meri-AH!” the boy screamed as he ran in circles in the Stoicksons’ front yard, trying to escape the infuriated huntress.

And then Henry came out.  Astrid had never seen him in his plain black pajamas and the baggy t-shirt with some black dragon on it that he currently wore, nor had she ever seen him with brilliant, Saint Patrick green highlights in his hair, but his sardonic, deflated posture and the flat look on his face was unmistakable as he looked around, barely making eye contact with Astrid before turning to the mad chase in his front yard.

And then a fourth person came out, this one with unmistakably long hair.  Astrid had always wondered how long Paige’s blonde hair would be if it wasn’t in its intricate series of braids.

That endless, _purple_ -highlighted hair reached down past the girl’s yellow shorts and bare knees, almost touching the ground as she stared wide-eyed and slightly curled up at the sight in Henry’s yard.

“HEEEEELP!”

“YE NO-GOOD, SCHEMING WELP!”

“I DON’T WANT TO DIE!”

“THEN YA SHOULDN’T HAVE SIGNED YER OWN DEATH WARRANT, YE IDIOT!”

“HENRY!  PAIGE!  AIIIEEE!”

“AAAARGH!”

Astrid honestly wondered what on God’s green Earth Henry thought he was going to do when he and the usually blonde chick raced forward.  Merida was a hardy type, someone who could put up a good fight, with enough muscles and stamina to lay down some serious hurt if she wanted to.  Henry was essentially a stick with a bad case of sarcasm.  No contest.

And Paige, while definitely better toned than Henry (Astrid briefly wondered what Henry thought of that; in her eyes it was just sad, especially considering who Henry’s father was) was also definitely not a fighter, more of your stereotypical, shop-at-the-mall, kind of flighty teenage girl who still thought the world was rainbows and unicorns.

“Please stop fighting!”

There you had it.  Astrid almost snorted at the innocent girl’s completely ineffective plea.

Henry was only slightly more useful.  He lunged forward and wrapped his skinny arms around Merida’s waist.

It’s very hard to run when someone’s clinging to you like that.

“Henry!  GET OFF!”

“Look, I know you’re mad, but that’s no reason to kill Jack!”

“THANK YOU!”

“I’m not going to kill him because I’m mad!  I’m going to kill him because of this!”  Merida thrust a finger at the poofy pink halo around her head.

“Well, we’re not delighted about it either!” Henry answered irritably, grunting a little as he dug his heels in when Merida made to lunge out of his grip.  Astrid didn’t see why Merida didn’t just break the weak hold Henry had on her.  She was definitely strong enough.

But instead, Merida actually calmed down some and the white-haired idiot, Jack, apparently, although there were a number of Jacks in their school, came closer, standing next to the still-worried Paige on the front lawn.

“But I’d have a hard time explaining a dead body to my dad,” Henry continued, slowly standing up straight and removing his arms from around Merida’s waist, making sure she wouldn’t do anything.  “So let’s just sit on him instead.”

Astrid barely caught sight of Jack’s content smirk before it disappeared.  “What!!  OOF!”

Henry lunged at Jack now, making the slightly taller boy topple over and knocking the wind out of him as he settled himself firmly on Jack’s stomach.

Paige was next, kneeling down and draping herself daintily over top of Henry’s back, giggling the whole while as Jack struggled beneath the two of them.

And Merida perched herself on top of Paige’s back, back stiff and legs crossed.  “There!  Let that be a lesson to yeh, rapscallion!”

“Are you guys seriously going to just lay on top of me for, I dunno, how long?”

“Oh, I’d give it half an hour, give or take,” Merida answered from the top.

“Ah, well then, I’ll just get comfy and we can start the clock.”  And with that, this Jack character raised his arms and put them under his head, looking comfortable as you please.

Astrid wanted to say something.  She really did.  Something about…all…this.  This strange…weird… _thing_.  There weren’t even words to describe it.  The only thing she could think was that something was wrong with the world, because this?  This thing with the fierce athlete and the flighty A-lister and the nerdy loser and the absolute nobody?

This just didn’t work.

She stared, intrigued, jaw still hanging open as the foursome noticed her.

“Hey!  There’s Astrid!  Hi!”

“Hi, Astrid!”

“Wh-what?  Oh!  Astrid!  Hi, Astrid, hi, uh…hi.”

“Hey, person I don’t know!”

Astrid’s jaw popped shut and she gave a little wave of acknowledgement back before making a beeline for her house and stepping inside, staring out the kitchen window in the front at the pile of people in the next yard over.

And she honestly felt a little…put out.  It was completely ridiculous, as ridiculous as the shenanigans going on next door, but as she headed up to her room, she just couldn’t shake the feeling that she had lost…something.  That something in her world, some constant, had just disappeared.

And that feeling told her it didn’t matter that she didn’t even know what had changed or even if she did, it wouldn’t matter how hard she tried.  She wasn’t going to get it back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Astrid witnesses the Big Four. I've always wondered what Berk would think of this group.


	3. Fantastical Four: Hiccup Joins the Group

“Aww, isn’t it _cute?_ ”

Actually, Jack thought as he leaned on his staff, it was pretty ugly.  It barely reached his knee and for some bizarre reason, it reminded him of a mushroom.  But as he looked more closely, Jack could indeed see why it was kind of cute.  Made up of two big, green eyes and even bigger feet, it took a second to notice the little pug nose and floppy, bark-like hair that had quite a bit of moss in it.  It looked very inquisitive with its tiny mouth forming a little ‘o’ as it stared up at them, cocking its head to the side in what could only be described as – yes, an adorable move.

The phoenix was already bending down to coo at it.  Merida’s sapphire-colored attire fell over the forest floor as she kneeled, the pendant on her neck swinging forward.

“Och, aren’t you just a sweet, wee lamb?” she asked it, reaching out to tug its tiny cheek.

It batted her hand away, causing a new round of ‘Awws!’ to start up among the girls.

Jack rolled his eyes.  “Ahem?  Hello?  Quest going on here?  Killing the dragon, saving the village?  Any of this a-ringing any bells?”

Rapunzel swooped down and scooped the ‘little bundle of precious’ up in her arms, fluttering about a foot in the air.  Her long, blonde hair curled down her back and pooled to her feet like a pegasus’ mane while her butterfly wings beat excitedly.  The small creature squirmed as she hugged it to her chest, cradling it like one would a baby.

“Hush, Jack!”  Merida whacked him in the arm, throwing a scowl his way before going to stand next to Rapunzel.

Jack sulked by his tree as Rapunzel leaned down to coddle her newfound pet.  “Are you lost?” she sang to it.  “Hmm, did you lose your parents, cutie?”

“NOT kute.”

Jack doubled over laughing at the girls’ flabbergasted expressions.  Served them right.

“Did-did it just talk?!” Merida stuttered.

“Jes.”

“Uh…”  Rapunzel slowly sank to the ground, wide spring-green eyes fixed on the…the…whatever it was in her arms.

Jack floated over to hover by her shoulder, peering down at the creature’s mildly irritated yet resigned expression.  Merida’s mouth was still hanging open.

“Oh!  I am _so_ sorry!” Rapunzel squealed as she nearly threw it back onto the ground in her haste to give it some of its dignity back.  The creature landed with a ‘whumpf!’ almost falling over as Rapunzel blurted out apologies.  “I just-you…I’m _really_ sorry!  I am so, _so_ sorry!”

Jack nudged Merida, sending her a sly look.  “Don’t you think you should be apologizing too?  I mean, you started it.”

This time, the snarling phoenix threw a solid punch into his arm, effectively making it feel like jelly.  She clearly wanted the ground to open up and swallow her whole and save her from her embarrassment.

“-I just have never met anything like you!” Rapunzel babbled on.  “I didn’t recognize you at all!  What _are_ you, if-if you don’t mind me asking?”

Jack sauntered over, arms slung over his staff which rested on his shoulders.  “He’s a troll, Punz.”

“An’ how would you know, Frost?” Merida snorted, arms crossed over her chest, the bow on her back standing out above her hair.

Jack glanced down at it.  “He’s short, he’s got big feet, he clearly lives in the woods…he looks like a troll.  Now leave the poor guy alone and let’s go find that dragon, you know, like we said we would?”  He floated to the ground and started to herd the girls towards the depths of the forest.

“Jealous much?” the red-head muttered, refusing to budge despite Jack’s insistent pushing.

“Oh, but there’s no rush!” Rapunzel burst out, peering over her shoulder in delight to stare at their discovery.  “Can’t we speak with him for a few minutes?  Please?”

Jack rolled his eyes.  He shoved them even more persistently.  “He’s a _troll_ , Punz.  Trolls don’t speak Common.”

The troll coughed.  “Aktually…I do.  Um…Gjou tsaid gjou are tsearching for…” He paused, clearly struggling.  His pronunciation was terrible, distorting the consonants so badly Jack could barely understand him.  “A drakkon?”

“Oh, he does know Common!” Rapunzel squealed, running back to kneel in front of the (in Jack’s eyes) ugly creature.  She appeared completely unbothered by his thick accent.  “Yes, that’s right!  Has it been bothering you?  Do you know where its lair is?”

Merida rolled her eyes, apparently long over the brief bout of insanity she had suffered in the face of the troll’s cuteness.  But she did wait patiently, or as patiently as she did anything, leaving Jack no choice but to grump a few feet away.

The troll eyed them, clearly trying to decide if they were trustworthy or not.  “Weeeelll, uh, gjou tsee…jes,” he decided.  “Jes, I do.”  He paused again.

“So where is it?” Merida asked, arms crossed.

The troll took a deep breath and closed its eyes, coming to a decision.  “I’ll tell gjou on one kondishion: gjou haffe to take me hwith gjou.”

“ _What?!_ ”  Jack shot straight up.

Merida's yell sent the birds into the air.   **"What?!"**

“Of course!” Rapunzel gushed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just had to write this scene when it popped into my head. Just had to. My mind's churning over a whole plot, the backstories of Jack, Merida, and Rapunzel, and...I really like this AU. The irony, the antonyms in this world...are hilarious (in my weird mind anyway). It's definitely in the running for Next Story after I finish No One Trains a Dragon.  
> Just saying :)  
> Anyway, thanks to everyone who read and voiced their support!  
> ~Sheisa


	4. Fantastical Four: Traveling Snippet

Merida was never one for long hikes. Long rides, yes. Long flights, always. Long walks?

The mention of ‘a little walk through the palace gardens, dear’ often earned her mother the biggest eye roll in history and a curiously absent daughter for the rest of the day.

Walking was just too slow and, more importantly, too mind-numbingly boring. So Merida, as a matter of fact, really hated walking.

Unfortunately, in their line off business, they spent copious, mind-boggling amounts of time doing just that. Quests and jobs typically meant weeks of walking, and maybe one or two days of actual questing. And then another few weeks to walk _back_.

The only reason Merida hadn’t lost her mind was, as loathe as she was to admit this, one annoying little winter sprite called Jack Frost. At the start of their acquaintanceship, he had talked incessantly about everything that came to mind, from pancakes to ‘that great big evil lump of coal sitting on the mountaintop and giving us the stink eye, my Moon, that guy’s lazy, hey! Let’s go make him have some fun, give him a little slide to sit on, huh?’

No filter.

And of course Merida, being Merida, had promptly and irritably told him to ‘shut his yap’ and stop making this road trip more miserable than it already was.

But truth be told, the chatter had made the mechanical trudging just that much brighter. The time passed a little quicker. Walking became a little less dull and a smidge, just a smidge, more…fun.

It only took Jack about three days to figure out that as grumpy and argumentative as Merida was, she actually liked his inane comments, the friendly banter, even the fire-and-ice skirmishes they had down the way. Then Merida just could not get him to _shut up_.

Shortly thereafter Rapunzel joined the duo.

Jack still made dumb comments that left Merida snorting with laughter and needled her into a little chase now and then, but he, too, seemed to prefer to simply walk and listen to the melodies the fairy hummed under her breath.

Today’s melody was a familiar one. It seemed to be one of Rapunzel’s favorites as she hummed the perky tune every morning.

This morning, however, she was actually singing the lyrics.

“Just smell the grass, the dirt,

The flowers’ nectar and cream,

And hear that gentle breeze

That’s flying free~”

Merida trudged on point, bow safely tucked away on her back next to her quiver of arrows. Jack walked next to the delighted fairy, eyes shimmering with interest as he heard the lyrics for the first time.

“Feel the sun shining down

On your skin and your hair

And taste the fresh morning dew

That hangs in the air~”

They’re knee-high guide walked on the other side of Rapunzel, looking as interested as Jack. And maybe just a touch more enchanted than he should have. Merida felt her older-sister urges to protect the fairy stir, but she remained in the front of the group. He was just a troll, after all. Tiny and harmless.

“Try to remember

The month of December

When everything fades

And the sun bids adieu~”

And she could hardly blame him for being so entranced; she couldn’t imagine trolls getting much of a chance to hear fairy songs that often. Delicate butterfly wings and glowing skin among rough, fur-lined boots and hairy chins? Scratch that. Hikkup must have never heard a fairy sing in his entire life.

“That it won’t last forever

Life’s sprung up come summer

You can dance and be merry

No matter the view.”

Which was really a shame because fairies were known for their music far and wide and Merida thought Rapunzel must have one of the prettiest voices on the whole continent.

“Wow,” Jack commented.

Rapunzel flushed under the boys’ attention. “It’s the song we sing for the spring equinox. Just a few lyrics, I don’t know the whole song yet, but it’s one of my favorites.”

Hikkup smiled. “It hwas beeutiful.”

Rapunzel turned a little redder at the praise. “It’s just a tradition. I’m sure your people have plenty of beautiful songs too, Hikkup.”

That made the troll laugh. “Trollz don’t tsing.”

The fairy’s curiosity surfaced again. “But then what do they dance to?”

Hikkup laughed a little harder. “Trollz don’t dantce. Too tuff and manly.” He frowned, making fists and puffing up his scrawny chest. “Ick krant’k chwon!” he impersonated, stomping his feet with every step. “Vick t’ronk rahk! KRRR!”

Rapunzel smothered a giggle behind her hand. Jack just flat out laughed.

Merida turned back to the front, trying to hide her chortles.

Hikkup nodded to himself and sighed, sounding amused and resigned all at once. “Very manly.”

A lull hit the quartet as they continued to move forward. The phoenix kept her strides short as the sprite ambled along and the fairy fluttered, toes a good foot-and-a-half off the ground. The troll still had to walk briskly to keep up.

Inevitably, Rapunzel began to hum another tune absentmindedly as she investigated the various bushes and trees they passed. This tune was a little slower, a little – okay, a lot darker, Merida admitted as it wound on. But catchy in its own right. Rather appealing. It tickled something in the back of her memory, a rarely called upon thought. Something to do with Rapunzel, she recalled. A personal thing, not a fairy thing. It was something Rapunzel didn’t often like to think of, but so imprinted into her very being that it always slipped out now and then. They’d never asked about it before, just like they’d never asked about the lyrics to her Morning Song before.

But today, Jack, of course, had to open his mouth and ask. “That’s a cool song, too. What are the lyrics to that one?”

Rapunzel paused. “There aren’t any.”

“Oh.” The sprite slung his staff over his shoulders with a shrug.

“If tey ekzisted, tey would probab’ly be tsometing ahlong te lines ohf ‘a tsleazy old toadstool livez here,’” came the dry voice of their new companion from underfoot. He pulled a little at Merida’s blue skirt to get her to stop, scanning the trees and boulders for familiar landmarks.

The fairy fell silent as Jack straightened indignantly. “Sleazy! Toadstools are the cutest little flora of the forest,” he insisted. “Look at that one! That one’s pretty.”

Hikkup spared a passing glance at the toadstool Jack was pointing at. “Tat one’s poitsonous.” He pointed a little off to Merida’s left. “It’s tat hway.”

Rapunzel came to flutter next to Merida as they walked on, leaving the boys to bicker behind them. Her skin had dimmed slightly, her eyes turning glossy as she floated mechanically by the shorter girl’s shoulder.

And Merida hummed a little song of her own to keep the bad thoughts and long hours at bay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was inspired by Scar's theme from The Lion King. That's of course not what Rapunzel's humming but I swear Hiccup's line came to mind as I listened to it.  
> Anyway, Happy New Year!  
> ~Sheisa


	5. Reptiles in Hogwarts: Lizard Rumble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back off, dawg. Pascal is friends with a dragon. That's right. A dragon, buddy.

Pascal was trembling. His legs were shaking and his tail was twitching and he was pretty sure his heart was vibrating. The tiny, 5-inch chameleon quivered against the cold, wet floor deep in the bowels of the castle as he stared up, up, and up at the massive reptile above him.

The serpentine raptor’s teeth glinted blindingly in the brilliant reflection and Pascal nearly fainted. The tooth was longer than he was! Skinny, pointy, and deadly, with wet venom sliding down the smooth enamel. Pascal whimpered as he ran his tongue over his toothless gums and squeaked, turning the gunmetal grey color of the floor.

Those eyes, the pupils slit so thin he almost couldn’t see them, remained locked on him, a deep, disturbing fascination stirring within them. The long muzzle slowly dipped closer…and closer…and Pascal couldn’t even squeak, his breath coming so short he felt he was suffocating as a dark, bottomless maw drew nearer and nearer-

The raptor was jerked out of its trance by a sharp, hissing scream. It bubbled from behind Pascal like potion spilling out of Hiccup’s cauldron, hot and boiling and Pascal instantly felt some strength come back to his limbs at the chilling sound. Two black-as-night paws settled right on either side of him. A steady, low growl over his head brought him comfort like a teddy bear to a small child.

A full-sized Toothless bared his teeth above him, acid eyes glowing with deadly intent. It was, frankly, terrifying and Pascal puffed up with courage as the larger reptile gave them a cool one-over, eyes on the tiny snack being kept possessively between the Night Fury’s stubby paws and the snarling dragon ready to fight to the death over it.

The raptor lunged, driven forward by a multitude of legs and with the speed of a championship snitch. Pascal squeaked in panic as the dragon reacted instantly, large feet stomping all around him as a bolt of purple fire struck the screeching serpent point blank in the face. The black beast was on the hunger-crazed reptile in an instant, following up with a vicious clawing that made the raptor writhe. Pascal felt horribly soft and squishy as black wings and fins whipped around him, black blood splashed over the floor and screams and screeches bounced deafeningly off the walls.

They were still echoing between his ears when a passive rumble sounded right in front of him and an oversized but familiar snout brushed close to him. A peek showed him a concerned Toothless…

…and a still-bleeding carcass, the blood running in rivulets over the floor from the ripped throat.

Toothless snorted and spat, clearly wishing for some fresh fish, and Pascal had never felt safer.

Screams rang out from deeper in the network of tunnels, one the high-pitched, frightened shriek of a terrified girl with golden locks and the other the nasally, distinctive shout of a skinny Viking. Toothless charged blindly into the tunnels immediately, ears twisting and flipping to pinpoint the source of the screams before the echoes had even had a chance to settle.

But not before considerately holding out a leg for his tiny friend to shimmy up. Tiny, helpless, useless Pascal clung to the Night Fury’s huge head desperately as the dragon raced to the rescue of their witches and wished that he could do so much more, that they could get there so much faster, that _everything would be okay_ , with all his mighty little heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So first: this was supposed to be lighthearted fun, with a stupid, shallow antagonist everyone could have fun hating. Oh well.  
> And second: sorry to everyone keeping up with IWNOTaD. This semester is killing me. I designed it to be tough so I could have a more relaxed year next year (yes I plot like Gandalf) but oh my gosh. I have never been this sleep-deprived and short on time before. This tiny spit of a oneshot is all I've been able to do.
> 
> Anyway, clarification. For those who didn't guess it, this is a Hogwarts AU. A weird one. No overarching story, just a little image of Pascal and Toothless (who of course has to be kept miniature most times) being pals. Maybe I'll elaborate on it more in the future. Maybe I won't. It is currently a hanging end.  
> Happy reading!  
> ~Sheisa


	6. Jack Frost and Hiccup Falls

“Do you ever miss your eyes?”

Hiccup raises an eyebrow and gives Jack the look that question deserves. It’s a little difficult to do because they’re both lounging in a maple tree. The leaves are vibrant oranges, yellows, and reds but still soft and stuck fast. They block the view to the sky, and make it hard for him to turn his head and make eye contact with the winter sprite a branch below.

“I mean, your eye color,” Jack persists, hands behind his head. “You had, what, green eyes?”

“Like pine needles,” Hiccup affirms, turning back to the canopy. “Never really thought about it much to be honest.”

Jack stares. “Really?” It seems like something Hiccup would think about.

Hiccup shrugs. “Eh. I had other things on my mind at the time.”

“Fair enough,” Jack concedes. Because eye color really is trivial next to learning that your breath kills things.

He’s halfway through concocting a morning breath pun when Hiccup startles him. “What was your eye color? When you were, you know, human?”

“I think it was brown,” Jack answers. “Not dark brown, but not light enough to be hazel. Just brown.”

“What, like tinder brown?” Hiccup guesses.

“Yeah.”

There’s a brief pause.

“That’s not very wintery.”

“Hmm.”

“…”

“…”

“You miss it, don’t you?”

Jack gives a half-hearted shrug. “Didn’t remember it until I became a Guardian. So no.”

But he had hated his blue eyes at first. Blue eyes were pretty, but they didn’t hold warmth easily. Not like brown eyes. Not like tinder brown eyes the color of popping wood in the fireplace. Blue eyes were too cold.

“My wife had blue eyes,” Hiccup comments. “They were always intense, focused. Passionate. Lovely.”

“Dwah, do my eyes remind Hiccup of his sweet young love?” Jack drawls.

“A little,” Hiccup admits, making Jack tense. “Hers weren’t quite as crisp, but they were the same shade.”

Jack ponders that. Intense. Focused. Passionate. Lovely.

“Like Merida’s?”

Hiccup tilts his head. “A little,” he says again.

Huh. Merida’s eyes are almost fluorescent, the same shade as the wisps she commands. They’re deep and fiery where his are pale and clear.

“She always said green eyes and red hair were the marks of a hero,” Hiccup says quietly.

Jack snorts. “Wonder what she would say if she saw your eyes now.” Hiccup’s eyes are an interesting candle-flame orange with specks of golden yellow. If you look closely, you can spot very thin veins of red running out from the pupils. Of the four, Jack and Hiccup were the only two who underwent a color change and Hiccup is the only one who was given such an inhuman eye color. It’s made some kids approach him in wonder, and others back away fearfully.

“She’d hug me so tightly my lungs would collapse, punch me in the shoulder so hard I’d get a bruise, yell at me for dying until my ears were bleeding, and then kiss me senseless.”

“Sounds like true love,” Jack says dryly, imagining a phantom of the spiky girl that covers Hiccup’s journals going through the above process step for step. He wonders what a Hiccup who’s been kissed senseless looks like.

Then he thinks about what Emily would say if she saw him. She probably wouldn’t recognize him. Jack Frost the winter sprite is very different from Jackson Overland the big brother. At most, he’d probably remind her of himself but he doubts anyone in his human life would make the connection if he saw them now.

“I wonder where they all go,” he ponders out loud, letting a foot swing off the branch. He thinks that even if she didn’t recognize him, if he knew where she was he’d fly there in a heartbeat. Just to see her.

“Me too, Jack.” Hiccup fiddles absentmindedly with a clasp on his left arm, the parchment underneath rustling. “Me too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little blurb I whipped up to keep me from burning out on my other story. A little melancholy, but pretty lighthearted and fun.
> 
> So it's a SeasonSpirits AU. I felt like Merida already embodies summer pretty perfectly and blonde!Rapunzel is the definition of spring. But the Dreamworks boys had to get a bit of a makeover and here are their thoughts on that. It always struck me how warm and golden-brown Jack's memories with his sister were.
> 
> Also, remember how Hiccup was making a map in HTTYD2? ;)
> 
> ~Sheisa

**Author's Note:**

> Updates are to be spontaneous, perhaps frequent, and of various lengths. A couple of these have been on my computer for a while. Fair warning and happy reading ;)  
> ~Sheisa


End file.
